Radiator Question

[Spartan One]

Ok I bought a stock 2001 auto 2 months ago with 147K miles on it and everything has been fine so far except it overheated this last week and I found out after replacing the thermostat and water pump that I had a blown head gasket. I also noticed it had copper flakes in the antifreeze in the new 2-month-old Mopar radiator which tells me that it had an issue with the previous owner. Here is my question do I buy a new Mopar radiator or can this 2-month-old one be flushed to get the copper flakes out of it as I do not want to change the head gasket and have issues moving forward?

 

[BlueC]

Ok I bought a stock 2001 auto 2 months ago with 147K miles on it and everything has been fine so far except it overheated this last week and I found out after replacing the thermostat and water pump that I had a blown head gasket. I also noticed it had copper flakes in the antifreeze in the new 2-month-old Mopar radiator which tells me that it had an issue with the previous owner. Here is my question do I buy a new Mopar radiator or can this 2-month-old one be flushed to get the copper flakes out of it as I do not want to change the head gasket and have issues moving forward?

Unless it's suddenly leaking, flush it, or take it somewhere and have it cleaned out.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

I'd flush the cooling system with Thermocure, remove the cooling system's thermostat before starting the flush. This stuff... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00R74I5UY/?tag=wranglerorg-20

I'd expect the radiator and cooling system will be fine once flushed. For the thermostat, I'd install a new 195 degree replacement and make sure it's a not described as a "fail-safe" which is just more likely to fail in the open position.

If the thermostat does not come with a round bleed hole on the flange you can easily drill your own like this one. The thermostat is positioned in the thermostat housing with the hole at the very top to allow the cooling system to self-bleed himself.

 

[Spartan One]

Thank you both for your comments and recommendations.